We have been stuck inside for far too long this winter. Moreover, we've been stuck inside too much over the last week. The large amount of snow we had, plus President's Day, kept Meg and Clare's preschool closed for a week. Sure, the girls played in the snow for a small amount of time each day, but it wasn't sufficient to get out their energy. On Saturday we attempted adventure. To leave the house, I had to first shovel out the car. We went to Lakeshore Learning for the Saturday craft, but Baby Anne began screaming and proved such a distraction we had to leave quickly. We traveled to Vienna, Virginia for the Northern Virginia Model Railroaders open house (see photo above). The model trains were quite fun (with characters from Thomas the Tank Engine making appearances on the tracks to the delight of my children), but, prior to seeing the model trains, large snow drifts had made parking quite difficult and by the time I found a parking place Clare had fallen asleep. Clare woke up enough to see the trains, but was very groggy. We ended the day with a nature class on owls (see my previous post on nature class) at the Long Branch Nature Center. The nature class was fun and included a great owl craft, but Baby Anne again began crying when I put her in the Bjorn for our short nature walk in the snow. We had our fun, but it was a challenging day.

The weather has warmed up and I am committed to getting the girls outside today. The only problem with outside play right now is the mud. With piles of snow melting, there is nothing but mud all around. So, I've decided it is time for a trip to Clemyjontri Park. Clemyjontri is an amazing park, run by Fairfax County, in McLean, Virginia. It has a carousel (which won't be open until warmer weather) along with four distinct play areas, each with different themes. There are playhouses; pretend airplanes, firetrucks, school buses; musical instruments; and largest play structure I have ever seen. When my mother-in-law saw Clemyjontri Park, she couldn't believe there was not an entry fee. Like so many attractions for kids in our area, it is free. For our purposes today, the best thing about Clemyjontri is that it has a rubberized play surface, i.e., no mud (though as you can see from the pictures below taken in previous years, one of our favorite areas is in the dirt and will undoubtedly be muddy).

I do hope our adventure is easier today than it was on Saturday. It must be said that some of the greatest adventures happen because difficulties arise. But, I think we could use an easy day of just running and playing.

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I am Sandra Penfield--a one-time lawyer who is now a very happy stay-at-home mom. This blog is about making every day the very best it can be. ​

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